A very,
Very big Aloha.
This is Spirit Speak.
And I'm asking for a second to that spirit,
That Holy Spirit to speak through me.
Day as I have a conversation that I always look forward to with Father Carl Pete Van Eden in South Africa,
Who's wearing a lovely blue colored.
I want one of those.
That's a very nice one you get in Bangkok.
What do you call those shirts that have the little white in the throat there?
Clerical shirt.
Oh,
I like the clerical shirt.
That's a nice one.
And then you are in South Africa doing your wonderful work as a father,
As a counselor,
Which are an excellent counselor.
And of course,
You work with the Benedictine monks there,
The white robe Benedictine monks,
Which are a beautiful group of people who allow you to be you.
Most definitely.
Hello,
My friend.
It is really,
Really good to see you again.
And yes,
The white-robed monks of St.
Benedict is a beautiful,
Beautiful order.
Outside of the,
I don't want to say outside of the norm,
But they are quite unique in the sense of it's an order where you are allowed to be yourself.
And we don't have rules saying that you have to live life a specific way.
We have two rules.
The one rule,
Of course,
As I always say,
Is the rule of St.
Benedict of Scolta or listen.
And then the second rule is Jesus never said no to anybody.
And that's what we try and live our lives by.
That's such a beautiful thing to remember.
I mean,
That's such a simple precept,
But at the same time,
Such a beautiful thing to remember.
And it makes a difference.
Just a simple idea can make a difference.
Today we're going to talk about,
We've been following the different beautiful musical attributes and words and what we have created with In the Hands of God.
And we both realized that it's been an interesting journey and more than just being a project where we were creating music and in this case,
The inspiration that came from my sister's passing,
But also the fact that we were able to then create this together and then work with some beautiful people,
Including Stephen Malillo and Darlene Colden-Heaven.
But we have also found,
It's interesting,
We've decided to make a book out of this.
We just decided it's kind of heading in that direction when we were having these talks,
But full moon of April,
A very colorful spiritual time.
And all of a sudden it's like,
Okay,
What is really going on here?
And we have a lot of amazing lessons that have come that actually were almost prophesized by these words.
They were directed in some higher way.
There were messages that spoke in more ways than I could imagine that I had to look at that have also brought interesting things and miracles about that I never ever would have ever been able to expect.
And so today we've been going through the songs and today we're going to do a song called Help Me Walk the Way.
Yes.
And beautiful,
Beautiful song.
It is.
And this one,
When you did the music,
Definitely has the feeling,
Most all of them actually do.
But this actually is a prayer and feels like a prayer in the music and in the words.
Yes,
But this song to me is one of the songs that you must turn inwards and you pray this when you are alone.
Before you start your day.
And it becomes almost a mantra that takes you throughout the day and asking the Lord to be with you and to guide your footsteps and also,
I think,
For us to remember that God is always there.
All of those messages are in the song and with the prayer,
It then turns inwards because a lot of the music that we do is outward and it's sharing of our love to the Lord and our thanks and a lot of times we then forget that we need to turn inwards and ask the Lord to be with us as well.
And you know with meditation and sitting and just being how important that is to open yourself up for the guidance of the Lord.
And the song to me is one of those songs where you make that effort and you take the time to sit with the Lord and ask,
Help me walk the way that's right.
And it brings up to me that at the time when I wrote those words,
Of course,
I was going through my sister's transition in the way that came about,
Which was very trying at the time for me.
And it was by doing these words,
Of course,
That I not only found those messages to apply to myself,
But also through you and the music,
How they could apply.
But I never would have known nine months ago when I wrote these words that I would now nine months later be going through even more reasons to surrender and ask for help with an interesting time of change from needing to find a new home to live in,
In a place like Maui,
That's not an easy thing,
Which I thought was a big deal.
But then with my significant other having a near death experience and heart attack,
Which is still an ongoing process as far as healing,
Didn't know that would happen at all.
You know,
And then realizing that,
Well,
Gosh,
This what has this all brought about many ways to actually re look at and surrender to God's will,
Which I thought I was doing pretty good.
But when you're buzzing along and happy and just doing it as part of your daily process,
Like,
Okay,
Yeah,
I do my meditation,
I surrender God's will and listen,
I write.
When you really get a situation that is created,
Where you stop all that and go,
Wow,
Something's obviously going on here.
Mary Omwick,
One of my closest friends,
Of course,
Passing as well.
And so it's time to like it,
Okay,
I'm going to surrender.
But then,
Not only do I surrender,
But how do I really choose the right decisions to make and then go,
Oh,
Okay,
It's not me making the decisions.
There's a greater thing going on here that I could never handle on my own.
But at the same time,
I have to,
As a spiritual practitioner,
Use all these tools that I wrote about in spiritual tools for a better life,
I have to go and remember just try to stay positive and to stay positive,
Not even to try to stay positive,
Just stay positive by staying thankful for the good that's happened and the good things that are there by being detached and going within and observing all of these different aspects of what you do when you're really going through life changing situations.
I mean,
I mentioned to you just as before we began,
I feel like I'm a living Petri dish for what I put down in words now.
Yes,
Yes,
It's almost as if one is involved in a video advertisement where they say,
But wait,
There's more.
And yes,
You thought waiting for the more.
And when once you think that,
Okay,
I can't get any more challenging,
Then there's just that one one notch up.
And I think you and I are blessed that we could have the music or the songs to help us guide us through through that time.
And it is for me,
Just another sign that what we've been doing is there to help other people as well.
You share it with people and you get the most amazing feedback.
And I'm getting the same here as well,
Where people translate and they find answers for things that we didn't even think of.
And they can relate whatever we share with them to life experiences that we didn't bring into consideration when we did this album.
And it is it's a beautiful journey.
As you say,
It is a challenge.
And we've spoken about this before as well.
Many people are going through enhanced challenges at the moment.
It's not just a car breaking down,
It is a car breaking down and somebody getting sick and and and a lot of people are facing that compounded by the fear of COVID.
We are sitting with this this bubbling thought of Yeah.
And it's a big challenge.
Have you had someone talk to you or have you had people expressed to you anything because you haven't?
You know,
People don't realize that not only is it 12 hours time difference,
But mailing I mailed you a box of CDs and it's been weeks now.
Still waiting in process.
So I guess anyone that you've talked to this heard it heard it through the streaming site or something such as that,
Right?
Yes,
It's gone through the streaming site.
By the way,
The apostle arrived in Johannesburg this morning.
Five o'clock.
You got the you got the you got the CDs.
It's at the airport.
So so it will take another week,
But we'll we'll get it they here.
So these of course,
Celebration they is.
My mother sent me a message and said one of these songs will be played at my funeral Angel of the Presence.
And that's the kind of feedback we're getting.
And she didn't say that because she's my mother.
That is because of what the messages in that song.
And yes,
It is touching lives.
So I just hope we can we can share it more and more with people.
And on that song Angel of the Presence,
Beautiful,
Pronounced Tiago.
Tiago.
Yes,
Tiago and his mother how sweet and how it touched them and how beautifully that happened.
But help me walk.
You know,
I also got seeing as a situation that I have been going through as far as some of the challenges.
I thought of this hymn that was written by the Rolling Stones called You Can't Always Get What You Want,
But you get what you need.
Because we all can be pretty happy when we're getting what we want.
But when you get things that you may not have really wanted,
You know,
But maybe it really is what you need.
Even how in there's been these words that I have been experiencing the reset,
The great reset,
You know,
The flex that be able to turn,
You know,
We as a world are experiencing these things as well,
Having to reset the new normal,
The new,
You know,
Way of living.
There's no denying that indeed,
We wouldn't have wanted what this last year as a world,
As humanity would have wanted.
But obviously,
There was something there we all needed to get.
No,
That's very true.
And we were forced to sit and to listen.
Or we actually,
I want to go further and we weren't forced to do anything,
But we were given the opportunity to reset.
And there's a big difference because if we're forced to do something,
And that takes away our right of choice,
And that is what makes us human.
So God didn't take away anything from us.
We were given an opportunity to sit down,
To listen,
And to become aware of the Lord.
We had a beautiful Mass today.
Mass was quite intense.
And there was a part of me saying,
The times that we are alone,
And the times that we go through strife and through great challenges,
It is not that God is not there with us.
Those are the times that mainly we forget to listen and we forget to be aware of the presence of the Lord.
In that presence,
Of course,
Is so beautiful.
And we've talked about it in the music.
It's also when spirit speaks,
That is the speaking of the presence.
And being able to translate that as clearly as need be is wonderful.
And when you carry the music with you,
And when we have those beautiful arrangements that are done on this album,
I really feel that it is lifted through that music and has been lifted through that music so beautifully that it does speak in another way beyond words.
It speaks to the soul.
And you can indeed turn to what's,
And I have been listening to this a lot,
Because I've been in need to get these messages again.
And if I'd just written those words,
That would not have happened.
So again,
What's really important to us has been coming up.
What has been making me vulnerable,
I think has been making other people vulnerable too,
Because there's so many people.
When we look at so many people who have been affected with COVID,
So many people that have maybe lost their jobs,
So many people that have had their lives changed in drastic ways through this,
That we are not the same as,
Even as humanity,
We're not the same as we were a year ago.
We're a different,
In a very different place than we were a year ago.
We were,
Yeah.
And the big drive there is,
It's okay to be broken at the moment.
Broken does not mean defeated.
Thank you.
That's,
I want to go back,
I thought it was Leonard Cohen,
But someone once said that Leonard Cohen took it from someone else's,
Is the Anthem song that he did about,
You know,
You have to let the tip,
You have to be open and broken and the heart does to let the light come in.
And it's very true,
Because it's easy to be closed when you think everything is going and humming along in a certain way.
But when you stop and pause and God gets your attention,
Then it's a different story.
Then all of a sudden,
And there are not a lot of things that will change our ways.
But we know that there are things such as sometimes a death that can really be life changing.
There can be a birth,
It can be sometimes a marriage,
But truly we have a lot more that we can do for distractions and diversions and things to avoid facing what's really going on inside.
And I definitely have been doing soul searching.
That was a meme of what I wrote this morning was soul searching,
Because you have to explore.
As a human being,
We have this form,
Man and hue spirit,
We have spirit and form and somehow there's got to be a real nice merging between the physical which we can't ignore.
And what we do,
Which we can't ignore and the spirit and how they work together in life.
And it's not an easy thing.
You know,
When you look at it,
Especially if you bring in the fact that a lot of the physical part has been exposed as being very vulnerable as well with COVID.
It has been and again,
The mass exodus that we are facing is leaving a lot of people that and it's not fun.
And I sometimes wonder,
We have these theoretical ideas of God or universe experiencing life through us,
And experiencing every single possibility and every single variation that on an atomic level can be.
And then we get petulant.
And we say,
But how's that fit?
And I forget oftentimes,
That God is inside of each of us.
And that this experience is part of something bigger.
It is absolutely part of something bigger.
And every thought and every prayer is not just our own.
Every vibration we have reaches out and can possibly touch people in other ways.
And it's not just me going through this.
I'm going through this and there's lots of other people going through this.
And at the same time,
I'm not a person who really has ever sought counseling because I go within and God's been there.
But I have through this time,
Especially in the early days of what was going on,
Turned to you as a spiritual counselor.
And because I think for a spiritual counselor,
You need to trust someone implicitly,
Number one,
Because especially if you're on the spiritual path,
A lot of people may not understand people who are going through things in the spiritual path.
There is a different way of learning sometimes on the spiritual path.
And when you're facing life and death with someone you love,
And someone you've been with,
That also brings up a lot of other very vulnerable things.
And I do have to say,
I'm a kind of person who is kind of a loner,
Really,
Truly kind of a loner.
And I don't talk to,
I have a very few amount of friends.
And of course,
Mary was one of them and she just left.
It doesn't mean I can't talk to her still,
I do.
But it's very different than talking to someone like you at this point and sharing things.
And there is this beautiful way you can learn if you are in a vulnerable place,
Because with someone like you who sees it from a spiritual and a metaphysical and a higher perspective,
You can go,
Okay,
What's really,
You can stop and not do your typical way where you're laying on a couch and just letting yourself talk about dreams,
Anything Freudian at all,
Not Freudian,
Not Freudian at all.
But you can look and say,
Okay,
What's going on here inside?
What's happening?
And so I have realized the value of that,
Like I haven't realized before.
And I'm sure there's other people out there who may feel alone and may not have that chance to reach out.
And I would say,
If anyone's going through that,
There are people out there who can help you.
Number one,
You really are not alone because alone is all one.
The word A-L is all and then one.
And number one,
God is there.
But sometimes it helps to have someone to talk to.
And it could be a friend or it could be a counselor.
But it does help to have support when you're going through hard times.
And when you're depressed and don't have someone to turn to,
It's a sad thing.
It is.
And we always say that every coach needs a coach.
That is a harsh reality that people who are in ministry or who do serve others tend to not want to unburden onto somebody else.
And that almost becomes a selfish thing.
If you keep on bottling up your emotions,
Because at some stage you bottle up so much that you can't be of benefit to other people anymore.
And I sit with the exact same thing,
Not trusting myself enough to trust somebody else.
Because one realizes if you are somewhat empathic,
That everybody is going through stuff and that you don't want to make your problems somebody else's.
Yet we are very much aware of the fact that when we do help and we create space,
That to me is the big thing as a counselor.
Is not to counsel.
It is to be a space creator.
And just to create that space where whomever is there at that moment is reminded of the fact that they are perfect at that moment.
You know what just came to mind,
I'm almost tempted to Google this.
As you were saying this course being a DJ for most of my life,
Songs that go with everything,
But the Beatles songs help remember that how it surprised people when while you were probably even born there,
But when the Beatles came out with the song help,
This was they were huge.
I mean,
Huge millionaires,
You know,
And at the peak of their success.
And then they came out with a movie called help.
And it surprised people.
It's like,
What,
What,
What,
You know,
What,
How could you even ask,
Say,
You need help,
You know?
And I thought,
Well,
Isn't that quite interesting and beautiful that they would be in a position where you have everything,
You have money,
You have beautiful girlfriends,
You get all the homes,
You have all the fame,
You need your cards,
And still,
You need help.
And it expressed what I knew growing up in Beverly Hills,
That just because you have all the accoutrements of money,
It in some ways,
Can make it even more difficult because people do think that you have everything you want.
And how dare you,
You know,
Say that you need help,
Because you've got everything you need,
You know,
But indeed,
For the people going through that it's even more painful,
Because they're going through the same thing is look,
I got everything I've ever dreamed of having.
And I still need help.
Yes.
And I do not come from from from Beverly Hills.
I come from a small farm out on the on the Lesotho border in the Free State.
And growing up,
You almost idolized the singers and the actors and,
And you forget that they are also people.
And you did the same with your doctor and your your pastor or Reverend.
And their role became something that you you saw and you forgot to see the person.
And I'm seeing more and more that it's people.
And everybody is equal.
Everybody has to get up.
Well,
You don't always have to get up but we have to eat,
We have to breathe.
And basic bodily functions we all have to do.
And it doesn't matter how perfect your life seems,
Especially on social media and online at the moment.
You still have worries,
And you still have mundane issues.
I don't think that Steve Jobs just focused on his company.
He might have had time in the garden and wondering what type of tomato he would plot.
Well,
He got fired from his own company.
To true company up and he was home.
Yeah.
Yes.
Apple came because he had an acid experience with a group friend of his up and,
You know,
At an apple orchards,
You know,
So yeah,
And he was studying Zen Of course,
He had a Zen Master Teacher who married him and his wife.
So yeah,
There was definitely self exploration.
And he had so many issues that he had,
You know,
And then of course,
This cancer for years,
You know,
Think,
Well,
He did everything he wants,
Because look at his a billionaire.
But no,
It wasn't wasn't easy.
He had to accept his daughter from his first relationship,
Which he never got married from very different.
So yes,
No one no one is immune to needing help and going through challenging situations,
Which reminds me of the song helped me walk the way.
And this was last,
I think this may have been done in August or September.
I'm not quite remembering the timeline of all these songs.
But it's all of that.
Yeah,
Because it was all written in and you know,
I even have them somewhere on my phone,
And I write them and I put them in a place where I read on my phone now because there's so many and then I put them in my notes.
So I probably could track it but it was a while back.
And it goes,
Lord,
Help me walk the way that's right.
To follow your precious life,
Guided with the grace to follow that inner light.
Let me learn to find the time to show the kindness.
So in tune,
Sharing love so profound,
It helps us to find that higher ground.
Lord,
Let the walk.
Let me walk the way that's right.
But with your footsteps as my guide,
Be by your spirit may I be healed by the gift that we give that sets us free.
And may I share these words that come in silence from the sacred dawn.
Can I commune,
Lord with thee,
For yours is such pure energy.
A flower so profound and deep.
All creation is embraced with the depth of love that sets us free.
Lord,
Help me walk the way that's right.
To follow your precious life,
Guided ever with that grace to follow that bright inner light.
And that was a very simple prayer.
And if I look at it now,
I'm going,
Well,
That wasn't one of my better writings.
I look at the lens like I could have written that better.
I could have added words and I did.
I added a couple words here and there.
But something in it spoke to you.
And with your music,
You were able to create this feeling that was behind it,
Not necessarily even the words,
But the feeling that was really intended,
The intent behind it.
It's always fascinating for me.
The marriage of the words and the music.
And how they merge into a message.
And you can't really separate them anymore.
And Stephen did such a beautiful work in taking a simple melody and creating this bowl of perfection in which Darlene's voice could fit.
And yeah,
I'm filled with pictures every time I hear the music,
I can see what he has done with that bowl of sound.
And the feeling for this was something very personal,
Something very simple.
I don't want fanfare if I am alone with God.
It is something that when I pray and when I'm alone,
It's simple.
It need not be gilded.
It need not be fancy.
It should just be something where I can be myself.
And that is what came through when I read those words.
It is just a simple song and a simple tune that one could almost repeat over and over and over and repeated during the day.
As a reminder,
Asking the Lord,
Help me walk the way that's right.
And something important there for me as well is that it's not one way.
Each one of us have our own path.
And that came through beautifully today in our mass readings,
Where Jesus also said that I am the good shepherd.
And I'm going to be the shepherd for people from not only this fold,
But from many folds.
So that in the end,
There is one flock.
And to do that,
Each of us have to walk our own journey and our own path.
And that's also why the song was quite simple,
Because it's not to be shared with anybody else.
That is a lonely road that's a reminder that you're not alone.
I love that.
That could be another song.
The lonely road where you are not alone.
That's beautifully said.
Beautifully said.
I can't believe we're out of time,
But I do want to play the song.
And it's getting late where you are as well.
And I had a massive morning already and a busy Sunday.
So I just really am so deeply grateful to you for being there and for understanding and being part of the good shepherd,
Being a good shepherd yourself that is letting,
Allowing that beautiful light of spirit and God and Christ to come through you and shine so bright.
So I honor that and I'm grateful.
Thank you so much,
Father.
And until next time,
Aloha.
Have a beautiful day.
Thank you very much.
I will.
And I'll be working on these precepts.
Bye-bye.
